Dutch marines kill 2 pirates off Somali coast

In this photo taken Sunday, April 3 and released by the Dutch Defense Ministry on April 4, suspected pirates stand on deck with their hands raised as Dutch marines approach a hijacked Iranian fishing boat off the coast of Somalia in an operation to free it from pirates. The Dutch Defense Ministry says its marines have killed two pirates and captured 16.

AP reports from The Hague, Netherlands: The Dutch defense ministry says its marines have killed two pirates and captured 16 in an operation to free a hijacked Iranian fishing boat off the coast of Somalia.

The ministry says in a statement marines from the frigate HMS Tromp opened fire on the pirates Sunday after they shot at two Dutch inflatable speed boats sent to investigate a suspicious fishing vessel.

Ten suspected pirates were captured as they tried to flee in a high-speed skiff and six more were detained on the fishing boat. The bodies of two suspected pirates killed in the firefight also were recovered on the boat.